Argentina FAQ's & Infos
Comprising almost the entire southern half of South America, Argentina is the world's eighth largest country, covering an area of 2.8 million square km. Argentina possesses some of the world's tallest mountains, expansive deserts, and impressive waterfalls, with the diversity of the land ranging from wild, remote areas in southern Patagonia to the bustling metropolis of Buenos Aires in the north.
Its six major regions are as follows:
The Paris of the South: Buenos Aires
This complex, energetic, and seductive port city, which stretches south-to-north along the Rio de la Plata, has been the gateway to Argentina for centuries. Portenos, as the multinational people of Buenos Aires are known, possess an elaborate and rich cultural identity. They value their European heritage highly--Italian and German names outnumber Spanish, and the lifestyle and architecture are markedly more European than any other in South America. One of the world's finest opera houses, the Teatro Colon, flourishes here on the plains alongside the river. Portenos are intensely involved in the life and culture of their city, and they will gladly share the secrets of Buenos Aires if you lend an ear and relate your own stories in return.
Buenos Aires' physical structure is a mosaic as varied and diverse as its culture. The city has no dominating monument, no natural monolith that serves as its focal point. Instead, Buenos Aires is composed of many small places, intimate details, and tiny events and interactions, each with a slightly different shade, shape, and character. Glass-sheathed skyscrapers cast their slender shadows on 19th century Victorian houses; tango bars hazed with the piquant tang of cigar smoke face dusty, treasure-filled antique shops across the way.
The city's neighbourhoods are small and highly individualized, each with its own characteristic colors and forms. In the San Telmo district, the city's multinational heritage is embodied in a varied and cosmopolitan architecture - Spanish Colonial design couples with Italian detailing and graceful French Classicism. La Boca's pressed tin houses are painted a rainbow of colors, and muralists have turned the district's side-streets into avenues of color.
For all its diversity, the elusive spirit of Argentina as a country is present everywhere in Buenos Aires. The national dance, the tango, is perhaps the best expression of that spirit--practiced in dance halls, parks, open plazas, and ballrooms, it is a dance of intimate separation and common rhythm, combining both an elegant reserve and an exuberant passion. 
Cuisine and Nightlife
The dining options in Buenos Aires are endless. This is a city that takes dining seriously, and meals can easily last a few hours. Like the national norm, nobody here really starts eating until 9pm. Main courses usually consist of an asado, a barbecue of excellent quality beef. Beef is dominant, and it also comes in the forms of bife de chorizo (sirloin steak) or empanadas (meat pies). The local wine is also good, especially the reds. You also might want to try mate, the traditional gaucho drink. The national deserts are dulce de leche, a milk jelly, and alfajores - Argentine sweets made from dulce de leche.
Buenos Aires is never more alive than it is at night. It is what you'd expect from a city that invented tango. Avenues come alive with people on their way to restaurants and theaters, especially Puerto Madero or Recoleta. People like to dress up and stay out until dawn, and anyone who visits the city should go and see a tango show. There are several major venues, most of them in San Telmo. After dinner or a night of dancing, Porteños like to grab a coffee at one of the city's myriad cafes, chat, and perhaps watch the sunrise.
Teatro Colon
The Teatro Colon needs little introduction to those familiar with the opera. As one of the world's premier opera houses, it has hosted the likes of Maria Callas, Toscanini, Stravinsky, and Caruso. Tickets are hard to come by, as many of the theater's 3,500 seats are held by season ticketholders. A guided tour lets the visitor glimpse the inner workings of this eminent center of opera.
Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo is the city center (the city, in fact, was literally built around it), some of Argentina's most important historical events took place here. Surrounding it is the Government House, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Cabildo (town hall). Today the Plaza probably owes most of its fame to the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, the women who still show up in the square seeking information on the desaparecidos, their loved ones who vanished during the Military rule.
The Recoleta
This area is the most fashionable place in Buenos Aires to dine; it is adjacent to the Cementario de la Recoleta, Eva Peron's final resting place. Along with Evita's much-visited grave, there is Our Lady of the Pilar Church, the Cultural Center, and the Palais de Glace, a major gallery. You can walk along the Pilar, which brims with a wide variety of restaurants and venues featuring live music every night.
San Telmo
San Telmo is widely hailed as the most picturesque part of Buenos Aires. Cobblestone streets and colonial buildings set the atmosphere for an array of shops and boutiques, tango parlors and cafes.
La Boca
Perhaps the most colorful area in Buenos Aires is La Boca (the Mouth), which sits along the port. Here an assortment of brightly painted low houses made of wood and metal burst upon the eyes in a scene that could almost be from some- where in Scandinavia. The main street here is Caminito, which has an artisans and painters fair, open air tango shows, and typical Italian cantinas.
The Parque Lezama
This is one of the city's most attractive parks--enormous magnolias, palms, and cedar elms grace the winding paths among the hills, and a smoothly-flowing river cuts through the park center. At the Museo Historico Nacional, Argentina's turbulent history is reviewed, from the 16th century to the present. It features a collection of paintings by Candido Lopez, a primitive stylist and one of Argentina's most important artists. The Catedral Russo Ortodoxo, with its soaring and majestic onion domes, is one of the city's many fine architectural ornaments. Curiously enough, it is still owned by Russia.
Palermo
Palermo is area of woods and lakes, on large park composed of many small ones. Among the attracts are a pleasant rose garden filled with sculptures, polo fields, and the Japanese Garden.
Tigre
Situated on the Parana River Delta, Tigre is a natural playground consisting of 350 rivers and streams and an ecological reserve. You can partake in water sports and fishing, or check out crafts at the Fruit Dock. There are also two museums here, the Navy Museum and the Sarmiento.
Estancias
A great excursion from the city is a visit to one of the many Estancias, or Argentine ranches. Here you can get a sense of the traditional life of the gauchos. Many Estancias offer accom- modations, traditional food, live folk music and dancing, and exhibitions of gaucho horseback skills.
Shopping
When it comes to shopping, Buenos Aires can be one of the most charming places anywhere. From its grand boulevards to the winding streets of Arroyo, the city offers an endless variety of boutiques, galleries, and antique shops. The Sunday Flea Market in San Telmo provides excellent, leisurely people-watching and shopping, and there is a very good Sunday Antiques Fair at the Plaza Dorego.
Most of 4starArgentina hotels are located close by the Florida St. The main shopping area with Galeria Pacifico the best and most traditional mall in all of Argentina
Weather
Fall - ranges between 10-21C.
Winter - ranges between 2-12C.
Spring - ranges between 13-25C.
Summer - ranges between 21-31C.
Transportation
Air - International flights arrive at Ezeiza, about 40 minutes ($35 taxi ride) from downtown Buenos Aires. Domestic arrivals land at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, 10 minutes from downtown (by taxi, about $7).
Major carriers include: Aeroflot, Avianca, Aerolineas Argentinas, Air France, American Airlines, Alitalia, Aeroperu, Austral, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Dinar, Iberia, KLM, Lan Chile, LAPA, Lloyd Aero Boliviano, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Pluna, South African Airways, Swissair, TAM, United, Varig, Vasp.
Taxis - Taxis are black and yellow. Available ones have a red light on the front, and the fare is metered. Arriving as the airport you have the choice of booking a "remise" with predetermined prices for every possible destination within Buenos Aires.
Rail: Service is good to the suburban areas, but it is nowadays limited for longer distances.
Subway: Five lines connect the city, all of them safe and fast. Service is punctual.
Medical Facilities
The main hospitals in Buenos Aires are the German Hospital, Fernandez Hospital, Clinica Suizo Argentina, Clinica Bazterrica, Rivadavia Hospital, French Hospital, Clinica de la Trinidad, and Italian Hospital. For emergencies, Asistencia Medica SAME.
Argentina (short review)
Argentina is a land of extremes, its hectic urban centres contrasting with a staggeringly remote hinterland, and can be simultaneously hot in one region and cold in another. The one common thread is that the people possess a curiosity, passion, and fervour for life, most visible when it comes to football, the national obsession. Evita, the Tango, gauchos and estancias are the country's clichéd attractions, but what strikes visitors most is that life here is for living - the fast pace only letting up for the afternoon siesta.
Referred to as a grimy Paris, Buenos Aires is a sophisticated capital brimming with character and an excellent spot for shopping and watching the world go by - whether it's pedestrians strolling or motorists driving at break-neck speed. Nightlife is second to none and the restaurants are a food-lover's delight.
Argentina's national parks teem with wildlife and incredible mountainous vistas, while the colossal Perito Moreno Glacier and Iguazú Falls are natural wonders. Endless hiking opportunities abound in the south, where Patagonia is stunningly barren and mystifying and the Tierra del Fuego feels like the end of the world. The Andes offer excellent skiing - the ski-resort of Bariloche being the country's most established. Horseriding, adventure sports and birdwatching are just a few of the other activities on offer throughout the country.
Argentina, vastly unexplored and undiscovered by most tourists, is an adventure waiting to happen.
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